Sam Sexton thrives on underdog tag ahead of British heavyweight title bout against David Price

SAM Sexton is determined to prove the pundits wrong – again – by claiming the British heavyweight title against David Price, according to trainer Graham Everett.

The much-heralded Price (12-0) faces the biggest test of his career against former Commonwealth champion Sexton when the two clash at Aintree on May 19.

Hometown boy Price knocked down a shell-shocked John McDermott three times en-route to victory in the first round of their British title eliminator at Liverpool’s Olympia in January, heightening interest in a clash against then-champion Tyson Fury.

Boxing politics intervened and Fury has since relinquished the title, leaving Norwich-based Sexton and Price to contest the vacant title.

But while on paper the bout is Price’s toughest to date, some bookmakers have made him 6-1 on to see off Everett’s charge, who has lost just twice in 17 fights, both to Dereck Chisora.

Everett insists Sexton thrives on those odds and brought up Sexton’s two victories against Martin Rogan as evidence of upsetting the form book.

“People expect Price to win but, to be honest, Sam is buzzing off that. That attitude is pushing us on,” he said.

“When we went to Belfast (for the first Rogan fight) we caused a huge shock. Even at the weigh-in we were getting invitations to the after-parties. People were talking about Rogan’s next fight.

“Let’s face it, Sam has never really had the silver spoon since turning professional. He’s not had that many fights – for reasons that I won’t go into, and we’re not happy about it – but this is a big opportunity.

“We’re going into the lion’s den, but you have to remember that this is Sam’s fourth championship fight. The pressure is all on David.”

Although a year younger, the 6ft 2ins Sexton is giving up six inches on his formidable opponent, an Olympic super-heavyweight bronze medallist.

But Price is unlikely to have faced anyone so far in his career with Sexton’s decent punching power, with Everett plotting a perfect strategy for the contest.

“David Price is fantastic and he hasn’t done anything wrong as a professional, although it was difficult to learn too much from the McDermott fight,” said Everett.

“It’s no huge secret that Sam will have to get inside Price’s long arms, we don’t want David using his leverage – without giving away too much of our strategy, of course.

“Let’s put it this way, Sam is not going to stand there and walk straight into Price.

“We’re not even contemplating defeat – we’re in this to win it. Sam has started hard training already. He’s at 17 stone now and he’ll be down to 16-and-a-half by fight time. He’ll be very sharp and fast.”